The Obama administration announced today that 106,185 Americans have selected health care plans on state and federal exchange websites since enrollment began October 1.
The relatively low numbers are an outgrowth of the computer breakdowns that have hampered both HealthCare.gov, the federal site which services 36 states, and individual sites run by 14 states plus the District of Columbia.
Of the 106,185 Americans who have selected plans, 79,391 came by way of the state exchanges, and 26,794 have been processed through the federal exchange.
The numbers are the first to be released by the Obama administration after enduring weeks of battering for the troubled rollout of the marketplaces, which has frustrated millions of Americans with error messages, screen freezes, and other obstacles.
U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius released the numbers at a conference call with reporters. While acknowledging the massive problems, she pointed out that the performance was comparable to the early days of the Massachusetts Health Connector, the marketplace that Massachusetts set up in 2007. The Massachusetts health law is the model for the Affordable Care Act.
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